A Guide to the Charter

What is the Charter?

Welcome to AREF's Charter, our updated and simplified Code of Practice. Widely recognised as the gold standard in corporate governance for unlisted UK property funds, the Charter encourages AREF members to adopt best investment practices wherever possible. It is reviewed regularly by AREF's Corporate Governance Committee to ensure it remains robust, relevant, and effective.

By aligning with the Charter, members demonstrate a clear and actionable commitment to the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and governance. The Charter goes beyond aspirational statements, offering a practical framework to guide members in delivering excellence across all aspects of fund management.

The Charter is designed to:

  • Ensure that AREF members consistently uphold the highest possible governance and transparency standards.
  • Simplify compliance through a clear and efficient self-certification process.
  • Support sustainable, inclusive, and innovative practices in the real estate funds industry.
  • Provide investors with confidence through the AREF Quality Mark.

The 10 Guiding Principles of The Charter

  1. Stakeholder Focused: Putting investors and other stakeholders at the centre of decision-making.
  2. Integrity: Ensuring fairness and transparency in fund management.
  3. Accountability: Promoting clear structures and alignment between managers and investors.
  4. Transparency: Maintaining openness in communication, reporting, and operations.
  5. Resilience: Building robust systems to handle market and economic shocks.
  6. Sustainability: Committing to sustainable practices, including the transition to net zero.
  7. Collaboration: Partnering with industry players to address challenges and share good practices.
  8. Innovation: Encouraging continuous improvement to meet evolving investor needs.
  9. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Promoting equal opportunities and inclusivity within the industry.
  10. Regulatory Compliance: Adhering to laws and regulations to protect investors.

Adherence to the Guiding Principles

Members are expected to consider these principles and uphold the ethos of the Charter in all aspects of fund management. To ensure the Charter’s integrity and effectiveness, AREF provides investors with the opportunity to raise concerns if they believe a member is not aligning with the guidelines.

Issues might include:

  • Failing to prioritise stakeholders or maintain transparency.
  • Compromised integrity or lack of accountability.
  • Neglected resilience or sustainability practices.
  • A lack of collaboration, innovation, or commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Non-compliance with regulatory standards.

This mechanism allows AREF to maintain the highest governance standards across its membership while reinforcing trust with investors.

View The Charter

Members can log-in and download the 2025 Charter by clicking here or the image below:


Please also refer to associated guidance documents on our Guidance page.  Additionally, new and refreshed guidance materials will be rolled out throughout the year to help members with implementation.

Annual Compliance Process

By completing our self-certification, fund managers reaffirm their commitment to the principles of the Charter and demonstrate to investors and stakeholders that their operations align with the gold standard of governance for unlisted UK property funds.

Our simplified annual self-certification process requires members to log in and confirm compliance by ticking a single box to submit. This efficient process upholds our high standards while reducing administrative burdens.

Self-Certification Access & Help

Each fund has dedicated compliance contacts who can log in and submit their compliance each year.  If you are a compliance contact, click here or the button below to log in:

If you are having any issues in accessing this platform, please contact us at [email protected].

Funds who have completed the process

As part of our commitment to promoting best practice and transparency, AREF publishes the Charter Compliance Register showing which members have signed up to the Charter and received the Quality Mark for the year.

View the Charter Compliance Register here.

With investors in real estate funds increasingly prioritising governance, the Register and Quality Mark offer a clear and accessible way for investors and their advisers to identify funds that adhere to the highest standards of governance and transparency for unlisted UK property funds.

AREF Quality Mark

Funds that complete self-certification and commit to the Charter’s principles will receive the AREF Quality Mark, a symbol of excellence in governance and transparency for unlisted UK property funds. Investors and advisers are encouraged to look for this mark when evaluating funds, as it signifies adherence to the industry's best practices.

Read more about our Quality Mark here.

Non-compliance with the Charter

It is a requirement of AREF membership that each Full and Associate Member of AREF must comply, with the requirements of the Charter, and should notify the Board as soon as possible in the event it is unable to do so.

  1. If the Board reasonably determines a Full or Associate Member is not complying with the Charter it may:

    a. request further information as necessary to determine whether or not there has been a breach of the Charter by the Full or Associate Member; and

    b. determine in its sole discretion whether there has been a breach of the Charter by that Full or Associate Member.
     
  2. If a breach of the Charter is established, the Full or Associate Member should make proposals to remedy the situation in a reasonable period of time.
     
  3. If a Full or Associate Member does not comply with the Charter, further to either notification by the Full or Associate Member or a Board determination, then a ‘Warning Notice’ may be issued by the Board.
     
  4. If following receipt of a ‘Warning Notice’ the Full or Associate Member has not rectified the Breach within the time specified the Full or Associate Member will be classified as a ‘Defaulting Member’ and the Board at its sole discretion can impose any of the following sanctions (or combination thereof) listed below.

    Sanctions in respect of a Defaulting Member:
     
  5. Private Censure – The Board may issue a Defaulting Member with a letter of Private Censure.  The terms of which (including the identity of the Defaulting Member) shall be confidential, but the existence of which AREF shall be permitted to disclose.
     
  6. Public Censure – The Board may issue a Defaulting Member with a letter of Public Censure, the terms of which AREF at its discretion shall be entitled to publicise in full.
     
  7. Suspend membership rights of the Defaulting Member, which the Board in its sole discretion consider necessary or appropriate.
     
  8. Remove the Defaulting Member from Membership, in this circumstance the Board must give the Defaulting Member not less than 14 days’ notice of the decision and invite written representation before a decision is made or issue an Exception Notice to the Defaulting Member, where upon the Full Member will not be deemed to be in breach of the Code of Practice (in respect of the area of the Code to which the Exception Notice relates only).

Investors

If you are an investor, have concerns about the compliance with the Charter or an AREF member fund in which you invest, and have not been able to reach a satisfactory resolution with the manager, please email us on [email protected].  This e-mail address is available for all forms of investor communication, including complaints and feedback.

Should an investor, at any time, become aware of a breach we would encourage investors to initially make representation to the trustees/manager of the specific fund. If further to these representations the investor is dissatisfied with the responses provided, then investors are encouraged to contact us via the above e-mail link. AREF takes such complaints seriously and will seek to address these in a robust and transparent manner.

News and Updates

Members will be informed via email about the latest developments and guidance updates related to the Charter. If you work for a member firm, but do not hear from us regularly and would like to, click here to sign-up.

Questions?

For further details about the Charter or to request support, please contact us at [email protected].

Enquiries

If you would like to discuss anything regarding the Charter, please email [email protected] and one of the AREF Team will get back to you.
 

Related Links:

The AREF Quality Mark

2025 Charter Compliance Register

2025 Annual Fund Compliance: Self Certification

Guidance